Kia Soul Complaints (2023)

54 consumer complaints on file.

#11543530September 9, 2023
AIR BAGS, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
Air bag new
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
10
Deaths:
1
#11541289August 28, 2023
STEERING
Out of no where and without warning, the steering wheel pulls in opposite direction and stability control light turns green and stays on the dashboard. Cannot move steering wheel. Simultaneously, the HD radio will get very staticy and abruptly shut off. After about a minute, the radio will come back on and the steering no longer has that pressure. It is terrifying.The car has less than 100 miles on it. I bought it 8/15/23. This has happened twice. Trying to get a service appointment for this week.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539009August 16, 2023
ENGINE, STEERING
On 8/15/23 I received my car back from the dealership after almost a month of repairs, trying to fix the issue where it would turn itself on and where it shut down while driving 45 miles an hour; at various points I was told it was the crankshaft, camshaft, spark plugs, fuel injectors, the pcm and a connector that was overheating. Yesterday, 8/15/23 the car was stuck in a long crank cycle. I notified the dealership. They told me to call kia. I drove the car to pick my husband up from the airport. While driving home the car suddenly accelerated, cars lights shut off, and the steering wheel made a hard turn to the left, the steering wheel then locked, sending us towards a ditch, and the car shut off, and the brakes locked. Right as we hit the edge of the irrigation ditch the car turned back on, the brakes went soft, and the steering wheel unlocked. While trying to correct the car the lane assist turned on (I never use it) causing us to further fishtail and almost drive into a telephone pole and another ditch. The back and forth motion caused me to pull a muscle in my neck, and I have had a migraine since the incident. I have been unable to seek medical care. When the car was stopped, the oil cap started sucking and blowing hot air, and the engine had a light knocking noise, somewhere between a lifter tick and a rod knock. When trying to use the Kia assist in the car it could not locate where we were, resulting in Kia trying to charge us for a tow. I have had the car a month, but ive only had it in my possession 5 days because of it returning to the shop for the same issues. The kia dealership says they have never seen this and don't know what is wrong. They have encouraged me to reach out to kia to see about a buy back, but kia is 3 weeks out on even reviewing my case.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11536727August 6, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On 8/22/23, I purchased a 2023 Kia Soul Sport trim from Kia Atlanta South. Just two days later, the 12V system stopped working, and yesterday, on 8/6, I discovered the car, which I had owned for only two weeks and driven 950 miles, was low on oil. Some of those miles were already on the vehicle when I bought it. I suspect both the electrical system and the engine may be faulty. Despite my concerns, the dealership claimed they had no knowledge of any recalls, despite there being an issued one.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11533870July 22, 2023
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
On wednesday July 19th, at approximately 1745 (5:45 pm) I got into my car and started it. I attempted to back out of the driveway and noticed my steering wheel was locked. I pulled forward, and put the car in park. I tried to turn the car off. It then restarted itself, revved the engine, turned the heater on, rolled down the windows and engaged the back up camera. The check engine light came on, the low oil light, and the battery light were all on. The car would not turn off, every time I pressed the off button it would idle strangely and turn itself back on. I had to remove the key fobs, and my phone from the vehicle (i have a remote start app) to get it to turn off. I had it towed to the dealership, who returned the car the next day and told me nothing was wrong and that it was in auxiliary mode. They showed me auxiliary mode and it did not do what had happened. I told them I would film it if the vehicle did it again. Yesterday July 21, 2023 the vehicle did it again, at approximately 2110 (9:10 pm). The dealership advised me to bring it back up today. While driving it up there the engine shut off while driving I was doing approximately 43mph with the keys located in the storage space near the gear shift. The entire car shut down, instrument cluster and all, my steering wheel locked, and i had to coast to the side of a road. The car then restarted itself and picked up where the cruise control had previously been set. It did this twice and I was almost hit by a large pick up truck the second time. Had the truck not braked in time I could have been killed, and had my daughter been with me she could have been seriously wounded. The dealership told me to limp it to them as a tow truck would not be avalible for hours. During the short drive the instrument cluster continued to fade in and out. The dealers only solution was to let them hold the car and drive it for the weekend while trying to replicate the problem. I have filmed it restarting, but not dying on the road
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531638July 11, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The driver's door opens while the cat is moving. I spoke to the Service Manager at Vision Kia in East Rochester, NY and he told me this is a safety feature. I don't believe the doors are supposed to open when the car is moving at highway speed. They do lock o once the vet moves but still open from inside.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11524077May 26, 2023
STEERING, LANE DEPARTURE: LANE KEEP: AUTOMATIC STEERING
The contact owned a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the lane assist feature malfunctioned and the steering wheel inadvertently turned sharply to the left and seized. As a result, the vehicle crashed into trees and rolled down the hill. The contact was removed from the vehicle. The contact sustained injury laceration to both hands and knuckles, reinjured right hip, bruised spinal cord, strained shoulder, neck, and injury to the left knee that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that someone will reach out to him but no response. The contact. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11520381May 4, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hands free dialing became disabled after a service visit. Infotainment system reports "Downloading contacts, please try again later" when trying to use the hands free dialing system, despite the most recent contacts being loaded. This forces the driver to make a call using the infotainment system screen by either referencing recent calls or the contact list. This creates an unsafe condition the hands free dialing system is supposed to prevent.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515124April 3, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
The instrument cluster is no longer displaying vital information. (Speedometer, tachometer, odometer, warning indicator lights, etc.) It still displays turn indicators and headlight indicators. The remedy is to replace the instrument cluster and have it recalibrated
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501026January 10, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, PARKING BRAKE
Purchased this 2023 Kia Soul on 12/9/2022 from Gateway Kia of North Brunswick, the incident occurred on 12/30/2022 and subsequently occurred a second time after that, I don't have the exact date for the second occurrence. Both occurrences happened with less than 1000 miles on the vehicle. After driving I put the transmission into PARK, with my foot still on the brake pedal, I applied the parking brake (this model has a manual brake you pull not the electric brake) this brake is also known as the "emergency brake" or "hand brake." After a few seconds with my foot still on the brake pedal I heard a loud bang and the parking brake disengaged all by itself, all the way back down. It just slipped. If the vehicle had been in neutral it could have rolled away. Just so happens that both times this happened I was on a relatively flat surface but the vehicle could still have rolled slowly. I contacted the dealer I bought it from today, 1/10/2023, not to make an appointment for service but to let them know this happened so it's on their radar in case another Kia vehicle comes in with the same problem. If I were to bring it in for them to look at it, they most likely won't be able to duplicate it and send me home telling me it's fine so I don't want to waste my time. If it happens again I will be contacting the manufacturer and for sure escalating the issue, in the mean time I just make sure to park on a surface that is as flat as possible and of course make sure to keep the transmission in PARK.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500854January 9, 2023
ENGINE
I was parked at the curb in front of a house, the engine running. I tried to go in reverse, nothing happened but my car kept getting closer to the car in front of me til I was touching the car. The person came and moved his car. With difficulty, I turned the steering wheel left and rolled out into the street but couldn't turn left when I tried. I was sitting in the middle of a four way intersection and people had to go around me. I sat there for about 20 min with the engine running, unable to move. Finally the car started to move and I was able to drive and control the car again. It was very frightening. Nobody has inspected the car yet. I'm trying to get in contact with the dealer to have it looked at.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498470December 21, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Last night was the first time I drove it in the dark while it was raining. The headlights absolutely SUCK!!! I’ve had daytime running lights that were brighter! I’ve had 6 volt headlights that were brighter! I probably have flashlights that are brighter! It’s seriously dangerous, in my humble opinion. There were times where the painted road stripes were worn down, no street lights, and I was literally driving blind. I was worried about driving off the road, or into oncoming traffic, as I could not see the road ahead of me. I will not drive this vehicle at night again. It's not safe. No one from the dealership or manufacturer has inspected my car. I assume all of the 2023 Soul trim levels are the same. The headlight system is a new design for the 2023 model year.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491280October 28, 2022
ENGINE, STEERING, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2023 Kia Soul. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP mode and stalled. On another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started to vibrate after the accelerator pedal was depressed and the front driver’s and passenger’s side headlights failed to operate. Additionally, the contact stated that she took the vehicle to the car wash and noticed that fuel had leaked onto the tires. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that tire shine was on the tires not fuel. The contact also stated that the vehicle had lost power steering functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 400.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486261September 25, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
I am driving on the highway. No construction. No traffic. Cruising. No problems. I get a dashboard warning "WRONG WAY! Turn around safely" It was on for at least 10minutes. Very worrisome. But the lane assist was still working.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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